Man hurls bar stool in fight, 'could have blinded' barmaid

DURING a bar fight, Rickardo Joseph Viti threw a wooden stool at another man.

The stool glanced of the man and struck the bar behind him before bounding up and hitting a woman behind the bar in the face.

It caused bruising and swelling to the right side of her face and she needed medical attention to have varnish removed from her eye, prosecutor Sheena Hayes said.

Viti pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed in public while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.

Magistrate Damien Dwyer remanded Viti in custody for sentence on Monday because he wanted to consider his penalty.

Viti had been drinking at a Mackay pub on February 19 this year. Just before 9pm, as he was leaving, he became involved in a verbal argument with another man, which became violent, the Mackay Magistrates Court was told.

Mr Dwyer said it was lucky police had only charged Viti with the one assault.

His blood alcohol reading on the night was 0.193%, the court was told.

Defence solicitor Dave Ritchie, for ATSI Legal Services, said the other man had pushed his client. They'd been arguing about the music.

Viti had "no intention" of hurting the woman, "she was an innocent victim", Mr Ritchie said.

However, Mr Dwyer countered that it was "foreseeable" that someone might be hurt if a bar stool is thrown.

The "community is sick" or violence in bars in Mackay, Mr Dwyer said.

Mr Ritchie submitted a fine for Viti's penalty for the offending.

"He is very sorry for what he's done," Mr Ritchie said.

Mr Dwyer disagreed and said, "I don't know if a fine is appropriate."

He told Mr Ritchie not to "play it down" that the woman only received varnish in her eye.

"It could have blinded her," Mr Dwyer said.

Viti had no history of violence, which was in his favour, Mr Dwyer said.